


spots, dots, and blots

by awkwardwritersyndrome



Series: Korvira Week 2020 [4]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Korvira Week, Korvira Week Day Four, alternative universe, fuck suyin beifong all my homies hate suyin beifong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26889481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardwritersyndrome/pseuds/awkwardwritersyndrome
Summary: Prompt: au"How do humans live so long with all their awful habits and no fur?"Song: Cruella De Vil from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians
Relationships: Korra & Kuvira (Avatar), Korra/Kuvira (Avatar)
Series: Korvira Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943398
Comments: 10
Kudos: 20





	spots, dots, and blots

**Author's Note:**

> This au borrows elements from the 1961 and 1996 movie adaptions of the book _The Hundred and One Dalmatians._

I honestly hate her pipe. It makes the air in here unbearable. How do humans live so long with all their awful habits and no fur? I suppose I’d eat a few more rocks, or something equally unhealthy, if I was stuck inside all day like Kuvira. Her routine is rather mundane; up at 6am for tea—always black, no cream, no sugar—a few phone calls to the agent man and that sweet older woman she calls aunt Lin, then a shower, and finally off to the piano. She sits there for hours. I’d go quite mad if it weren’t for this window.

Everyone outside is fascinating. Some are tall and sophisticated looking. Others are round and grumpy. A few are short and fast on their feet. My favorite passerbys are those with humans of their own. I’ve come to realize that most dogs have found a human that resembles them. The black poodle from two blocks over has a woman with long, thin legs. She wears all black, walks with her nose in the air, and keeps her hair pinned back. They’re an intimidating pair. The bulldog from Carnaby Street has a man with a great big belly and a stumpy nose. They’re practically twins.

Sometimes I wish for a companion, preferably a dame with a beautiful human for Kuvira. She could use some affection too. Love certainly won’t find her while she’s tapping away at that piano.

Wait a minute, who’s this? There’s a dog just across the street, she’s gorgeous, all white, maybe a lab. 

No! She’s a dalmatian, like me, but only one spot, right on her back leg. Adorable. I think her collar says Naga. An odd name, but I love it. I can smell her from here. She can’t live far, she smells like the bread shop just up the street. 

Her human, she’s pretty too. Kind blue eyes, dark brown hair, a warm smile. She’ll make Kuvira very happy. I just need to get them together. A well timed stroll in the park should do the trick.

* * *

“I’m so sorry about Nando, he’s usually well behaved.”

Kuvira’s a bit upset with me, but she’ll thank me later. I’m relatively sure this woman likes her. I can sense her heart racing, and they’re standing so close now, they might as well kiss. 

“That’s okay. My girl can be a handful too. Isn’t that right, Naga?” 

Hmmmm, Naga likes head rubs. Me too. We’re a match made in heaven. Naga and I will slip off to fetch some sticks while these two get acquainted.

* * *

The tiny townhouse in East London is rocking with the boisterous sounds of Kuvira’s saxophone. She’s two stories away from the nearest ear, but everyone in the house can hear her composing songs, tweaking them as she goes, and playing the disjointed notes again and again. When Korra and Naga moved in, she hauled her instruments up to the attic to make room for their things. They hired a maid, Zhu Li, to help keep things tidy since they both work from home; Korra is a fashion designer and Kuvira’s a music writer. If they didn’t know any better, they may have thought that they were set up somehow, arranged to meet and enter into each other’s lives, because they were an incredible fit. 

Kuvira’s mother is renowned designer, Suyin De Vil, and for every fiber of evil in her body, there’s an equally talented one to match it. Suyin can craft fabulous gowns, but her presence is like that of a poisonous spider. She creeps through rooms, her cigarettes and words polluting the air, and makes one's skin crawl with the turn of her grin. Her voice drips with condescending judgement, never kind or understanding. Honestly, Kuvira hates her, and happily reminds folks that Su’s only her adoptive mother, and nothing more.

Korra wasn’t aware of Su’s offensive affect when she asked Kuvira to recommend her for a job at House of De Vil. Of course she was hired right away, but she soon came to hate it, just like all the assistant designers before her. Most of her time was spent sifting through piles of fabric swatches and dusty bins of old sketches for Suyin to  _ ‘draw inspiration from,’ _ as she always said. It was entirely narcissistic—looking to her own work as reference for her new work, which would be her old work in a month’s time. But Korra suffered through it. Kuvira didn’t make much from her music and they had a home to take care of. So she swallowed her pride and accepted her insufferable circumstances.

* * *

Every crack of thunder shook the house. Lightning lit up the basement a millisecond at a time. Everything was still yet alive, humming with the electricity of anticipation. Korra and Zhu Li were playing the role of midwife for Naga while Kuvira and Nando sat impatiently in the hall. Nando paced in circles with his tail tucked between his legs, looking every bit like the puppy he was when Kuvira spotted his splotchy face in the pet store window. 

“Here boy,” she called out, patting her knee. Nando obeyed and sat his head on her lap. His eyes gleamed under the light of a single fading bulb; Kuvira meant to change that light weeks ago. She was just as nervous as him, there was no way to know if they’d end the night with three dogs or six or...even more. Their family could double or triple in a matter of hours, and she wasn’t sure how they’d make it all work. 

The two of them waited longer than expected, and eventually nodded off. It wasn't until Zhu Li came rushing out of the cellar closet rambling about towels that they startled awake. Nando went to the door to peek in only to be shooed away immediately. Zhu Li almost tripped over him as she returned and closed the door behind her.

“Don’t worry, they’ve got it under control.” Kuvira wasn’t sure if she was reassuring herself or Nando, but she continued anyway. “You’re going to be a great dad. Hell, I’ll be a grandmother,” she laughed. The joyous sound made Nando relax. He curled up against her feet and continued their watch.

Not more than ten minutes later, Korra yelled for them from the closet. They sprang to their feet to answer the call. 

“Fifteen!” she sang. “There’s fifteen puppies!”

* * *

Zhu Li is more fond of the puppies than anyone else. She counts them every night as she tucks them into bed.  _ Lucky, Patch, Rolly, Penny, Freckles, Pepper, Latch, Jolly, Lenny, Salter, Blob, Blot, Dot, Sporty, and Yoyo. _ All fifteen pups pile into a single wicker basket, fitting together much like they did in the womb, and fall fast asleep. Zhu Li fawns over the precious sight, her hands clasped together, pressing into her cheek. She lays a thin cover over them to keep out the cold winter draft, then goes about finishing her house work for the night.

* * *

Kuvira and Korra share a park bench while the dogs busy themselves chasing squirrels and rabbits. Their hands instinctively entwine, Korra’s on top, Kuvira’s underneath. As the sun falls below the horizon the temperature drops, spurring them to sit even closer. Korra nuzzles Kuvira’s neck, the soft skin warms the tip of her nose. Kuvira is extremely ticklish there, but she holds her composure so Korra doesn’t move, she’s enjoying the smell of her lavender shampoo far too much. 

“Oh, I think Suyin may give me a raise.”

“Really? I can’t imagine that woman doing anything generous.” Kuvira rolls her eyes.

Korra smiles against Kuvira’s neck. “I know, love. She’s quite awful, but I’m happy to make a little more than the pence I’m paid.”

Despite being comfortable, Kuvira turns to look at Korra. For a brief moment she’s caught off guard by how beautiful she looks at dusk. A million sweet nothings make their way to her lips, but she remembers her point before they come out. “You’re a brilliant designer, Korra. You could have your own clothing line, you don’t have to work for my mother.”

Korra rests her hand against Kuvira’s cheek. “Thank you. I know you believe in me, and one day I will start my own line. I’ll call it Amoire K.” She gestured to an imaginary banner in the sky, picturing how her name would look in big cursive writing on a storefront one day.

Kuvira smiled lovingly, always enamored by Korra’s good spirit and fiery determination. It was easy getting lost in her eyes, blue oceans worth drowning in. She only remembered that they were huddled together on a bench amid a chilly winter night once the church bell sounded, signaling that it was too late to linger any longer. 

They called the dogs, leashed them, then began their short walk home. Nando knew something was amiss almost a full block away. He could smell the trace odor of an unfamiliar car so he pointed his nose into the air and got wind of the puppies. They were supposed to be asleep so there was no reason for their scent to be so strong that far from the house.

The two dalmatians began pulling Korra and Kuvira forward. Every call to heel was ignored, the dogs continued straining against their leashes. The front door to the house was open and just inside there was Zhu Li, slumped on the floor crying.

“They took the puppies. They took all those little babies.”

* * *

“Kuvira you have to call her. It was Su, I know it was.” Korra pulls at her girlfriend’s arm, mere moments from crying. The puppies have been missing for two days and suddenly Nando and Naga are gone too.

“I know she’s an awful woman, but do you think she’s really capable of something like  _ this _ ?” The words feel foreign in Kuvira’s mouth. She’s never stood up for Suyin in her entire life, but it was no easy feat trying to accept that your adoptive mother could be the most wretched woman in the world. 

“Yes! Yes, I do think she’s capable. She was just here a week ago asking about their spots. She’s obsessed with furs and all around morally reprehensible.” Korra started yelling midway through her reasoning and was now sporting a fierce frown. “You call her, or  _ I _ will.” 

Kuvira’s eyes get wide at the sight of Korra’s unusual anger. She knows not to argue any further. 

The phone rings for a full minute before Suyin answers. “Hello, De Vil residence.”

“Mother, it’s me.”

“Oh darling, how are you?”

“I’m not calling to make small talk. Korra and I know it was you that took our puppies. We want them back.”

There was a long pause, it felt like a small eternity, then Suyin chuckled. “Now why would I want those mangy mutts?”

“They’re not mutts,” Kuvira yells into the receiver. Just that fast she reached her wit’s end. “I’m serious Su, we’ll call the police if we have to.”

“Call them. I have nothing to hide. My offer to buy those flea infested beasts was a one time thing. I’ve moved on. Now, I do love our talks, but I’m busy at the moment.”

“Don’t you hang—”  **click!** “She hung up,” Kuvira grumbled. 

* * *

♪ _ Suyin De Vil, Suyin De Vil, If she doesn't scare you, No evil thing will _ ♪

Kuvira is half humming half singing a song she made up as a kid while she taps a single key. Her head is propped up on her fist and she’s hunched over the ivories, depressed and defeated. The dogs have been gone for three days, no sign of them, no word from the police. Her and Korra have begun the work of mourning the loss; their poor dogs were gone for good.

The house was hauntingly quiet with only two people. Zhu Li wasn’t there as often since the messes were smaller, and Korra kept to her work room while Kuvira was in the attic. It felt nothing like the home they’d built. It felt barren and glacial. The emptiness almost sucked them in, the sadness weighed a ton.

“Love? Are you up there?” Korra calls from the bottom of the stairs, willing her voice to a volume louder than the music. Kuvira doesn’t have to leave the piano bench to see out the door, she just has to lean back a bit.

Her head pops into the hall and she finds Korra waiting with concerned eyes. 

“I was hoping we could eat dinner together tonight. It’s been a while.”

Kuvira realizes how distant they’ve been the past few days. She feels her guilt churning in her stomach. It wasn’t sensible to ignore each other when they’d lost their best friends already.

“Dinner sounds great.”

* * *

The food is bland, Korra is, in no uncertain terms, a bad cook. Kuvira has terrible taste buds though, so it doesn’t matter that the veggies are too salty, and the steak is overdone. 

“Thanks for making dinner.”

“Of course. I—” Korra takes a beat to figure out what it is she wants to say—about the meal, or their relationship, or the dogs. “I just missed you...and them. It’s too quiet around here.”

“I know, love. I wish there was more we could do. And Su, she’s probably — ”

“No! Please don’t say it. It just makes it worse.”

Kuvira nods solemnly. Her guilt intensifies into a violent whisk, threatening to make her vomit. She has half the mind to drive to her mother’s house, tie her up, and force some answers out of her. The thought is cruel but she is disinterested in cordiality after all they’ve been through. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Korra barely hears the soft apology, it’s partially drowned out by Kuvira’s fork stabbing at her stake and hitting the porcelain plate instead. Now, it’s her turn to feel bad, and she wonders why Kuvira is apologizing for something Suyin did?

“Sorry for what? This isn’t your fault.”

Kuvira gives up on the rubbery steak, drops her fork, and looks up with pensive eyes. “I shouldn’t have let her into our life. I can’t undo my childhood, she’s my mother whether I like it or not, but I could have spared you and the dogs.” It was hard to admit, but Kuvira wished she had remained an orphan. Life couldn’t have been too much worse in an orphanage. 

As her thoughts spin webs of frustration and regret, Korra sees the tears begin to well. She gets up from her seat and pushes her way onto Kuvira’s lap. She cradles the other woman’s head against her chest.

“I wouldn’t have let you keep your mother at bay, I’m too much of a family girl. Neither of us could have ever imagined a nightmare like this. It’s not your fault, Kuvira.”

Before she has a chance to respond, there’s a loud knock at the door. “Police! Anyone home?”

The two women look at each other in shock. “It can’t be,” they exclaim in unison. Together, they dash to the door and swing it open. Nando and Naga come rushing in covered in soot. Closely behind them are all the puppies, and a few extra, and few more after that, and...how many were there?

“Officer, thank you. We’ve been worried sick. Where on earth did you find them?”

“Well, this woman rammed her car into the back of a moving truck, lost control, ran clear off a bridge, and landed in the Thames.”

Korra and Kuvira crane their necks around the towering police officer, and waiting in the back of the patrol car is Suyin, cuffed and embarrassed.

“Turns out she was chasing the truck down because the hounds were in there. We had the mover guy drive them here.”

If it was anyone else but Suyin, Kuvira wouldn’t have believed her ears. But one thing she knows, it’s that her mother is one for dramatics.

“I’ll get those filthy mutts. If it’s the last thing I do,” Suyin hollers from inside the car.

All Korra and Kuvira can do is laugh, it all seems so comical. They shake the officers hand a few times too many, wish him goodnight, and turn their attention to the sea of dogs in their home. They counted them all, then counted again, then once more for good measure.

“Korra, there’s 101 of them. We’ve got 101 dalmatians.”

“We can’t keep them all...can we?”

Kuvira holds up one of the stray pups she’s yet to meet. Right on cue she licks her cheek as if to ask ‘can we stay.’ 

“I don’t see how we could give any of them up.”

* * *

I must admit, having fifteen children was hard, but having 99 is much harder. Luckily, Kuvira finally wrote that hit that’s been rattling around her brain for years now. It went number one on every radio station this side of the Channel. It must have made her quite a bit of money because life is different now.

Last month we had a great big party. Kuvira wore a white tuxedo and Korra wore an elegant dress, the first piece from her very own line. I think one of the humans called it a ‘wedding.’ It was a fabulous affair! 

We also moved to this great big house in the countryside. We’ve got a whole barn just to ourselves, and the humans stay in their house. I worry at times, it seems to be every other night that Kuvira is moaning in pain, but the morning after she’s always incredibly cheerful, so I try not to fret.

Naga is a dream, she keeps all these troublemakers in line. Of course, good ‘ol dad has to lay down the law from time to time, but she hardly needs me for that. 

And to think, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me, and my bright ideas. 


End file.
